Paula Arwen Owen and her Painted Trotter outside the offices of Griffith Olivero Realtors.
Paula Arwen Owen is an artist who works in hand cut paper silhouettes and collage. She combines her interests in mythology, dreams, and the natural world as inspiration for her work. Her work has appeared in books, magazines and can be seen in local galleries and public art displays, as well as in her online store on Etsy.
Her Painted Trotter is inspired by Norse Mythology, which is a favorite subject because of her Scandinavian heritage. The two sides of the horse represent two Norse goddesses, Freya and Skadi.
Freya is the goddess of love, beauty and magic. She also holds a skull to remind us that death is a part of life. The Norse believed that death was not always to be feared, as heroes would live on forever in the halls of Valhalla and Freya’s hall of Fólkvangr.
Skadi is the goddess of the mountains, of winter and hunting. She symbolizes strength, perseverance, and a wild beauty.
They are portrayed with the sun and the moon, symbolic of the perpetual contrast between light and dark, a theme throughout much of her artwork. The illustrations were originally done in hand cut paper, and then translated into paint with the use of hand made stencils.
Owen lives at the edge of an enchanted forest in the Catskill mountains with her husband and a variety of creatures, domestic, wild and mythical.
Her unique cut paper greeting cards, artwork and decals are available at her Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/arwendesigns. Her website is: www.arwendesigns.net.